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Today’s Youth Advisory Board post is from Bernadette Anat on her varied experiences with internships in college (4 and counting!) As always, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment below.

What Gen Y Gets Out Of Internships
In today’s undergraduate world, the word “internship” has become a reflex. A given. A rite of passage. And like so many Gen-Y overachievers, I made a beeline to make “internship” part of my new just-graduated-high-school big-girl vocabulary. There’s much to be said about a society that breeds students to make beelines towards coffee runs, 8-hour copy jobs and no pay, but that’s a whole other article.

Actually, I’ve been quite blessed to pretty much avoid the dreaded “Curse of the Intern” – I can proudly say, within my 4 internships, I’ve only had to make copies once. Today, actually.

How? Preparation + Opportunity = Luck.

I completely lucked into my first internship experience. In 2007, I was chosen as one of Seventeen Magazine’s “Freshman 15″ (not the weight gain, thank you). They chose 15 college freshmen to document their first year of college through blogs, video blogs and quotes in the mag. I made goofy vlogs, interviewed the strangest campus crawlers, gave advice to girls worldwide, and learned a ton about brand marketing – Seventeen and myself being the brands. I actually still write freelance articles for Seventeen right now, and to be working this close to my pre-puberty social bible… Amazing.

The next summer, I flexed my tech muscles at a brand marketing internship with Fortune 500 computer-giant, Sun Microsystems. If only I knew how spoiled I truly was… My supervisor was incredibly supportive, almost motherly; my teammates were tech rockstars pursuing their MBA’s; and the Sun campus was almost nicer than my own university. Our break room had DanceDanceRevolution, Rockband and a Wii. We had an internship curriculum – interns tracked our personal and professional goals on paper with our supervisors every week. And my job? To cultivate Sun’s business initiatives through social networks, and to be the voice behind Duke, the Java programming language mascot. Getting paid full time to explore the internet for Sun was a dream. I was even chosen to present my work to Sun’s CEO.

But make no mistake – it wasn’t always roses. Amongst the few thorns: Spending my summers on the 9 to 5 grind, and making the commute with every other overworked adult in Silicon Valley; strict editorial deadlines and writers’ block, on top of my own schoolwork; and having to sweat it out in an inflatable mascot suit, in 90 degree weather, while my fellow interns played Guitar Hero for our end-of-summer brunch.

Yes, you will do the grunt work; yes, you probably won’t get the credit you deserve. But heed my advice – any internship is a true waste of time when you don’t know what you want out of it. Think about it: Internships are a free ticket into the insides of a company. You’re one internal memo away from sitting in on million-dollar decisions. You’re a few cubicles down from the real powerholders of an empire. And being an intern is like being a 5-year-old: You’re never penalized for being curious, asking for access or making suggestions.

So I’ve learned to always be completely candid – they hired me for a reason, so I literally think out loud. I’ve learned to ask around anytime I hear about a meeting or event happening that I find even remotely interesting. Most importantly, I’ve learned to make a promise to myself before every internship: I will come out with ridiculously impressive-sounding facts (that my supervisor can back up) about how I left the company a little different from how I found it. It doesn’t matter at all where you go – it’s how much of an impact you can make on your boss and your company.

Currently, I’m part of the first-ever PR & Marketing effort for an awesome non-profit in San Francisco called the Spark Program. The team is small, the environment is fun; I often run into our Executive Director while grabbing street tacos. But I chose this internship for those precious words: “First ever.” I’m literally molding our press kit, online presence and media outreach with my own hands. And I’ve got my eyes on the prize – it’s going to be one heck of a recommendation letter.

What’s next? That’s the beauty of internships. It’s the only time journalism hiring managers will take a chance on a bioengineering major. It’s a time to, as I’ve heard many past supervisors say, “Throw everything onto the wall and see what sticks.” My only plan is to keep building my portfolio, keep my eyes wide open for opportunities, and do what feels right. If you play the game correctly, if you nurture the right relationships, if you shine at just the right moments… anything is possible.

About Bernadette

Bernadette is a simple creature – all she wants out of life is to eat, write, dance and talk. But she hasn’t found a way to do all four at once without a getting major cramp. Other than talking with her mouth full, Bernadette can be found beach-cruisin’ through the brick paths of the University of Southern California as a sophomore studying Public Relations. It sounds fancy, but all she really wants to do is write to, talk with and help teenagers until she’s wrinkly and gross. Bernadette is a former “Freshman 15″ and a current Los Angeles correspondent for Seventeen Magazine, but she’s been journaling, blogging and Dear-Abby-ing since she was 8. This San Francisco native is a lot like her hair – crazy, in-your-face, and full of surprises.

For more campus coverage, visit the Ypulse Campus Channel, sponsored by Campus Media Group.

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Categorized under: Collegians, Youth Advisory Board

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